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Colony Name: 49 Adio V
aka New Paulatuk
aka The Sovereign Theocracy of Surakan
Creator: James Braun
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GEOGRAPHY
System/Location: Fifth planet of the 49 Adio System
Distance to nearest Starbase:
42 days to SB GAMMA
Planet Classification: M-Class
Satellites/Space Stations:
Two moons, both uninhabited
Land/Water Ratio: 64%/36%
New Paulatuk is, in fact, a watery world, but most
of the freshwater is locked in permanent glaciers
which cover most of the planet's surface. The
remaining landforms are grassy steppeland.
Climate controlled: No.
Native Sentient Life: None.
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COLONY INFORMATION
Colony Age: 80 years
Population: 35 000
Species Present: Vulcan 70%
Human 30%
Colony Status: New Paulatuk remains a nominal UFP Protectorate
Surakan has declared itself independant of the
Federation, but the Federation council does not
recognize the motion.
Government: New Paulatuk elects a tribal council every three
years.
The Vulcan Order of Surakan, headed by an elected
First Abbot, rules the Theocracy of Surakan. The
First Abbot rules for life.
Major Cities/Settlements:
Federation City: 8 000
Really only a semi-sedentary camp, based
around the site of New Paulatuk's UFPDOCA
Office.
History: 49 Adio V(the only agreed upon name by the
colonists) has come up a number of times as one of
the few black marks in the long history of
Human-Vulcan cooperation.
The first colonists were Vulcan secessionists; a
monastic order who believed that Vulcan's troubles
with interstellar aggressors were brought on by
increased involvement in galactic affairs. They
wanted to create a new, de-industrialized Vulcan,
where the people led a simpler life, dictated by
the teachings of Surak, and didn't make their
planet an attractive prize for interstellar
mauraders like the Orion Pirates and the Borg.
When the Order saw that it would not gain popular
support on Vulcan, it gathered up it's followers
and left the planet en masse in search of a new
home. Roughly 25 000 Vulcans left the planet in
2319 AD, in search of a suitable planet far enough
from the civilized Federation bastions to ensure
they would be left alone. Ten years later, they
settled on 49 Adio V, and staged a sort of 'squat'.
Meanwhile, in 2374, another group of Federation
'secessionists', this time an Inuit band from
Northern Canada, were attempting to find a new home
were they could practise their traditional
lifestyle unhindered by Federation contact. In
2372, they were granted a 400 year lease on 49 Adio
(still believed to be uninhabited), and provided
with a small fleet to move them.
Upon their arrival, confronted with a sizeable
number of Vulcans living in scattered hamlets
across the steppes, the Inuit tribal council
registered an immediate complaint with the UFPDOCA,
accusing them of trying to disrupt their patterns
of life with Vulcan colonists. This began a number
of diplomatic and legal maneouveres which led to
the deadlock today.
First, the UFPDOCA sent out a fleet to recover the
Vulcan monks. The Vulcans staged a sit-in,
refusing to cooperate with the relief force. When
Starfleet attempted to beam out the Vulcans, it
prompted a rash of suicides and a number of hunger
strikes. The Vulcan ambassador to the Federation
immediately protested the UFPDOCA's actions on
humanitarian grounds, and the relief force withdrew
empty-handed. In the meantime, the Inuit settled
in and built Federation city.
The next move, on the part of the Vulcan colonists,
was a referendum on Surakan's sovereignty; the
Inuit were allowed to participate(although most
abstained from the vote), and the colony voted
overwhelmingly in favour of independance. An
immediate government was put in place, a
declaration of independance was transmitted to
Terra, and citizenship was made, by motion of
Parliament, to hinge upon membership in the Order
of Surakan. The Vulcans filed an immediate request
with the Federation, calling for the Inuit's
deportation; the Federation council responded by
saying that it did not recognize the results of
the referendum or the Surakan government, citing
an order of protest by the legitimate leaseholders
of the colony of New Paulatuk.
Later, the Vulcan Colonial Affairs Bureau tried to
step in on behalf of the Federation. A
representative was sent to the Surakan Parliament,
who tried to force a bill calling for negotiations
with Vulcan Colonial Affairs to resettle them on
another planet. Parliament responded by voting to
turn the Parliament houses into a monastery,
effectively barring the VCAB representative from
entry.
The situation as it stands now is thus: The Inuit
and Vulcan settlements are scattered along the
equatorial regions of 49 Adio V. Every year, the
UFPDOCA office releases a statement to those who
will still listen, exhorting Surakan to negotiate
with the Federation, and begging the Inuit not to
resort to violence to settle the conflict. The
Surakan First Abbot releases a statement in
response, stating invariably that Surakan sees no
room for negotiation in a closed diplomatic affair.
Furthermore, that the Federation has roughly 10 000
illegal residents on Surakan who have been politely
asked to leave.
Since stardate 91019, the Inuit tribal council has
voted to recall 7 different UFPDOCA
representatives, citing each time 'cultural
insensitivity in internal tribal matters' as their
cause. The Federation has taken this as a sign
that the Inuit are losing faith and patience with
efforts at negotiation, and may be preparing to
strike out on their own.
Economy: Both the New Paulatuk and Surakan colonies work
on a barter system.
Tech Level: Surakan: Neolithic era
New Paulatuk: Paleolithic era
Both tech levels have been arrived at voluntarily,
according to the wishes of the colonists to adopt
a more traditional pattern of society.
Culture: Surakan: A Surakian fundamentalist theocracy; the
Vulcans there are exclusively the most devout of
Surak's disciples. Strict non-violence, and the
discipline of logic are central to their belief
system.
New Paulatuk: The Inuit, too, have reverted to
their traditional hunter-gatherer, polytheistic
society.
Notes: Effective stardate 100209, Starfleet issued a
general order not to approach 49 Adio unless
specifically invited by one of the factions.
Both governments are to be treated as Federation
members, although the Federation Council only
recognizes the tribal council of New Paulatuk as
legitimate.
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